You will be rewarded a maximum of 3 points if I judge your work to be above average. You will receive 2 points if your work is average, that is it may have few minor mistakes in some of the answers but demonstrates correct grammer and indicates that some, but not all, of the answers, are acceptable and well expressed. You will earn only 1 point if you simply answered the questions and/or if you use poor grammar and if there are signs that you have not read the material on which your answers are based.
1. You may identify the stasis in the play but it isn’t necessarily at the beginning of the play. Where is it and who does it involve?
The majority of this story takes place in the 1990's, but is spread out until the 2000's, which is when Hwang is actually telling the story about something that happened before. Yellow Face involves David Henry Hwang himself, who is caught up in the casting of a white actor in the musical Miss Saigon, and how the play continues with the character Marcus, who he accidentally casts as an Asian but is actually white for the play Face Value. Other characters include Hwang's father, and other people such as the reporters and people involved in the lawsuit.
2. Ball points out that the intrusion sometimes occurs late in the dramatic action. What is the intrusion that breaks the stasis in Yellow Face and how is it broken?
The intrusion that sets everything in motion is when Hwang accidentally casts a white man, Marcus, to play an Asian character. This happens while he is criticizing the producers of MIss Saigon for casting a white actor for an Asian character, so he is definitely seen as a hypocrite. He tries to cover his mistake up by saying Marcus is a Jew from Siberia with Asian ancestry. Hwang tries to desperately cover up his mistake, and this is what ultimately gets all the scenes of the play to start having "action", such as the impending lawsuit, Hwang and his father's relationship, and trying to conceal Marcus's ethnicity.
3. Why do the events of the play take place at this particular time and place? In other words, what is the unique factor that is out of the ordinary that causes a turn of events to take place? Hint: what is the heart of the play? How does the title figure in this?
This is the day Hwang decides to talk about his struggles with producing the failed play called Face Value and his reaction to the events that happen along with this failure. He opens up on how when Marcus becomes an activist for Asians, and it angers him because of his wrongdoing with everything involving that play and the investigation about his father. He decides on that day to talk about the issues with race and how they affect society in different ways.
4. State the dramatic question that must be answered by the end of the play? (Ordinarily, the dramatic question shares a close connection with the intrusion.)
How does Hwang's "mis-casting" of Marcus change his views on self-identity and the racism that entails the investigation with his father?
What are Hwang's views on race/racism involving Asians before and after the events in this play?
5. Use Hwang’s “character” to answer the questions concerning character. Ball says, a character is revealed by what he/she does, ie. The dramatic actions that are taken. Examine what these particular characters wants. The wants of a character often encounter obstacles that get in the way of achieving those wants. Ball says there are 4 kinds of obstacles that frustrate the wants of a character. They are: a. Me against myself, b. Me against another individual, c. Me against society (that is law, social norms, etc.) and, d. Me against fate, the universe, natural forces, God or the gods. In answering these questions be sure to point to the particular obstacles that demonstrate these obstacles facing each of the lawyers.
Hwang, at first, is frustrated with the lack of diversity and inclusion for Asians, which is evident as he protests the casting of a white actor for an Asian character in Miss Saigon. This is a me against society obstacle, because Hwang wants to have an equal and non-oppressive society for Asians, as he uses his fame to be a voice for those who are sharing his vision. Another want is that he needs a good actor for Face Value, and is frustrated when he finds out his main lead isn't even Asian. This obviously angers him, and he calls Marcus an ethnic tourist. This obviously shows that Hwang struggles with himself over what he did, and the hypocrisy over those actions. He struggles a lot with this, and it highlights how much he cares about the issues taking place. Me against another individual is when he wants Marcus to stop being the face for Asian empowerment, because it bothers him greatly that the man is white but doesn't see that in this type of case, it does matter who you are if you are the face and voice for a movement involving race.
6. The most important information in most plays takes place during theatrical moments. Identify the most theatrical moments in Yellow Face.
The most theatrical moment in my opinion is when Hwang and Marcus confront each other outside the awards ceremony, and Hwang calls him an ethnic tourist. The interaction between them both is theatrical because it exemplifies how frustrated Hwang is that Marcus putting on a facade of being an Asian right's activist while he himself doesn't deal with any consequences of that since he is white. This shows that Hwang is torn between his meaning of what defines race and ethnicity, but in the end he realizes that society must work together to understand that people from different races experience life in various ways, and we must build upon that, instead of tearing it down.
1. You may identify the stasis in the play but it isn’t necessarily at the beginning of the play. Where is it and who does it involve?
The majority of this story takes place in the 1990's, but is spread out until the 2000's, which is when Hwang is actually telling the story about something that happened before. Yellow Face involves David Henry Hwang himself, who is caught up in the casting of a white actor in the musical Miss Saigon, and how the play continues with the character Marcus, who he accidentally casts as an Asian but is actually white for the play Face Value. Other characters include Hwang's father, and other people such as the reporters and people involved in the lawsuit.
2. Ball points out that the intrusion sometimes occurs late in the dramatic action. What is the intrusion that breaks the stasis in Yellow Face and how is it broken?
The intrusion that sets everything in motion is when Hwang accidentally casts a white man, Marcus, to play an Asian character. This happens while he is criticizing the producers of MIss Saigon for casting a white actor for an Asian character, so he is definitely seen as a hypocrite. He tries to cover his mistake up by saying Marcus is a Jew from Siberia with Asian ancestry. Hwang tries to desperately cover up his mistake, and this is what ultimately gets all the scenes of the play to start having "action", such as the impending lawsuit, Hwang and his father's relationship, and trying to conceal Marcus's ethnicity.
3. Why do the events of the play take place at this particular time and place? In other words, what is the unique factor that is out of the ordinary that causes a turn of events to take place? Hint: what is the heart of the play? How does the title figure in this?
This is the day Hwang decides to talk about his struggles with producing the failed play called Face Value and his reaction to the events that happen along with this failure. He opens up on how when Marcus becomes an activist for Asians, and it angers him because of his wrongdoing with everything involving that play and the investigation about his father. He decides on that day to talk about the issues with race and how they affect society in different ways.
4. State the dramatic question that must be answered by the end of the play? (Ordinarily, the dramatic question shares a close connection with the intrusion.)
How does Hwang's "mis-casting" of Marcus change his views on self-identity and the racism that entails the investigation with his father?
What are Hwang's views on race/racism involving Asians before and after the events in this play?
5. Use Hwang’s “character” to answer the questions concerning character. Ball says, a character is revealed by what he/she does, ie. The dramatic actions that are taken. Examine what these particular characters wants. The wants of a character often encounter obstacles that get in the way of achieving those wants. Ball says there are 4 kinds of obstacles that frustrate the wants of a character. They are: a. Me against myself, b. Me against another individual, c. Me against society (that is law, social norms, etc.) and, d. Me against fate, the universe, natural forces, God or the gods. In answering these questions be sure to point to the particular obstacles that demonstrate these obstacles facing each of the lawyers.
Hwang, at first, is frustrated with the lack of diversity and inclusion for Asians, which is evident as he protests the casting of a white actor for an Asian character in Miss Saigon. This is a me against society obstacle, because Hwang wants to have an equal and non-oppressive society for Asians, as he uses his fame to be a voice for those who are sharing his vision. Another want is that he needs a good actor for Face Value, and is frustrated when he finds out his main lead isn't even Asian. This obviously angers him, and he calls Marcus an ethnic tourist. This obviously shows that Hwang struggles with himself over what he did, and the hypocrisy over those actions. He struggles a lot with this, and it highlights how much he cares about the issues taking place. Me against another individual is when he wants Marcus to stop being the face for Asian empowerment, because it bothers him greatly that the man is white but doesn't see that in this type of case, it does matter who you are if you are the face and voice for a movement involving race.
6. The most important information in most plays takes place during theatrical moments. Identify the most theatrical moments in Yellow Face.
The most theatrical moment in my opinion is when Hwang and Marcus confront each other outside the awards ceremony, and Hwang calls him an ethnic tourist. The interaction between them both is theatrical because it exemplifies how frustrated Hwang is that Marcus putting on a facade of being an Asian right's activist while he himself doesn't deal with any consequences of that since he is white. This shows that Hwang is torn between his meaning of what defines race and ethnicity, but in the end he realizes that society must work together to understand that people from different races experience life in various ways, and we must build upon that, instead of tearing it down.